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By Jessica Wilson
You may already know that I am a HUGE fan of garlands and bunting. So I don’t think it should be too surprising that I’ve got a nifty Fourth of July inspired garland up my sleeve for you. The color combo of red, white, and blue is often a crowd pleaser, so there is no need to save this just for July. Alternately, you can use any color combo you like as the supplies for this may already be in your humble supply stash. All you need is a little paint, a handful of index cards, and some ingenuity. Let’s play!

Directions

Step 1: Prep your index cards by gluing them together in pairs, using your glue stick. Mine were lined on one side, so I stuck ‘em together with the lined side facing. 9-10 finished cards make for a sweet six-foot garland, though you can make more if you wish.Step 2: Set up a happy paint-friendly workspace to paint up your cards. I used two strips of painter’s tape on each card to mask off three stripes, and then I painted them red.Step 3: Paint away on the white space, but don’t fret if ya get your tape all painty too. Once it dries, carefully peel tape off to reveal a swatch of red and white stripes. Painter’s tape is best for this, as its tack isn’t as fierce as masking tape. Even so, a few of my cards lost a bit of their top layer.Step 4: Create a scalloped pattern by folding an extra index card into thirds and then sketching a curved shape at the edge. Trim with scissors and open it up.Step 5: Plop your pattern atop the backside of one of your painted cards and trace the scalloped bottom. Cut along the line you traced, and and then repeat this process for each card.Step 6: Roll out a seven-foot length (more or less if you choose) of white crepe paper and fold it in half lengthwise. Use the glue stick to glue the top of each painted card between the two layers of the folded crepe paper, placing them about 5″- 6″ apart.
Create a hanging loop at each end of your garland by gluing the ends of the crepe paper into a loop as shown here.Step 7: Roll out additional lengths of crepe paper in red and blue and bring the whole party to your sewing machine. Stack the colors however you fancy while keeping the card-festooned strip on top. Use a long zig-zag stitch and slowly stitch through all your layers from one end to the other. It may take a moment to get the hang of it, but move slowly and you’ll be fine.Step 8: To create the “firework bursts,” gather up your cupcake liners. Take one liner and turn it inside out, and then crumple the second liner and glue it to the inside of the first with white glue. Repeat until you have 9 or 10 bursts. I’m a bit of a cupcake liner addict and often pick up the holiday themed packs at the after-holiday sales. I found my liners at a local craft store, they were made by Wilton but you can use any color you like. Glue one cupcake-liner burst atop each painted-card flag and allow to dry.Step 9: Hang in a happy (non-windy) place. This would be super spiffy décor for a summertime picnic! Happy summer y’all!

About the Author:
Jessica Wilson is most happily known as ‘jek in the box’ and spends most of her time crafting it up and taking pictures. She can often be found standing on benches over on Flickr and creating all sorts of kiddie crafts on her blog scrumdilly-do! She lives a life of scrumdillydilly and loves to share.